Hollywood's loss is our gain

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2006)

This is a highly entertaining movie which contains some fine performances and gives a clue to some of the moral dilemmas that we are going to have to face as a result of continuing technological advances.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are good as the lead characters who come to realise that their entire perception of the world is a lie. They believe that they are the survivors of a tragic event which has contaminated the Earth. They are kept in a state of the art facility with other'survivors'. All their hopes and dreams rest on the lottery which determines who may live in the only part of the world which is not contaminated (The Island). However, the Island although a Utopian dream is nothing short of a nightmare.
Sean Bean is the sinister villain who keeps the 'survivors' in a state of disillusionment at their expense and his own considerable gain. He seems to have taken Gary Oldman's position as the villain of choice for Hollywood producers. He is charismatic and on cue as usual. Steve Buscemi is fantastic in his self styled zany manor even though he only has a small role.
This film tackles an important issue of the future. To what extent can a person be considered a 'product' if they are the clone of another person? Is the clone the 'product' of the person that made him/her? The person who has been cloned? Or is the clone a person in their own right if they are able to think and feel? These moral questions of the future are lightly touched upon for the audience to ponder at their own leisure.
If the above issues seem heavy issues there is also plenty of fun to be found in this movie. There are plenty of chase scenes, explosions and some amusing moments. This was something of a financial disaster at the box office but do not let that put you off. What is Hollywood's loss is definitely our gain.